Here… have a lengthy update because I didn't update for [4] months now.

Anyways, thanks to wulfralph, TheSebsFilms, Nagiiisa-san, mistgun4, xAndiya and Arachnodon for being patient readers and giving a follow/favorite to this SHI- I mean to this simple story. 7ck who am I kidding? LMAO

Enjoy~ (?)


Elsword's POV


Pant… Damn. These demons… pant… when will they ever stop? I can't feel myself anymore, and I'm barely taking the toll of exhaustion. Even my friends are getting tired as the ruthless bands of glitters were still in our territory, well actually it's their territory… but who cares? We can't even pass through the lines of their attacks as they continue to show up, replacing the banished demons that were once there before. We can't even get to the freaking gate! These demons- ack!

"Elsword!" Aisha shouted, or at least that's who I think I hear. She hurriedly went up to me as I heard her footsteps, trying to help me get up. But all I did was rest on my back, staring at the dark red sky, panting heavily.

"Damn it Els, now's not the time to doze off." The Veteran sneered, slicing another mutant who was about to step into his direction. What can I say? He's old enough to go through this bloody situation. To say I'm the leader, well… I think that was a mistake. Maybe I should quit the job and pass it to someone else who's more worthy? Maybe… maybe I need a little rest. My eyelids feel heavy, and I can feel something taking over me. Maybe a quick nap will do.

I started to close my eyes in relaxation, my mind racing with so many wonderful thoughts… but then- *SLAP!*

I was snapped back into reality, a cute face with purple glimmering eyes staring angrily at me as Aisha tugged my clothes tightly, tears come streaking down her face. "Don't you die on me, Eldork!? I'll beat the crap out of you so hard that you'll regret dying!" My eyes widened at her statement, even the gang were taken aback from what Aisha said. I mean it's not in her attitude to just yell with a legitimate word, especially that one. But to even consider it one is just a false accusation.

"Aisha, I-"

"Don't talk when I'm not yet finished!" She quickly retorted, causing me to shut my mouth completely. Aisha's now part of my list to fear besides Rena. "Look, we may not have been in good terms for a few years, but just know that," I can see she took a deep breath before continuing her words that was beyond belief. Although, I wish she'd say it one more time.

"That… we're never going to have another leader like you if you die right here, right now! You may be the youngest in our group, but you're definitely the most selfless person in all of us." Her lips quiver, but then she immediately bit her bottom lip as the magician in front fought the urge to cry even harder, shaking her head left and right. I don't know why, but I find her cute doing that… I must be dreaming.

"But sometimes, you're being selfless to the point you would die just for us… don't you know that I- we care about you?" She muttered as she stopped to glance at the side. It's like she hid the words she said, although I heard it well.

She looked back at me with her gleaming purple eyes staring dead serious into my half-dark crimson eyes. "We're a team you know, so we're supposed to have each other's backs!" She continued her ranting… I mean talking. She's saying different stuff than she normally does. Hehe.

"So don't die now. We've handled worse than this right?" She asked rather politely as she let go of my clothes and placed her hands both on my shoulders, her eyes literally begging. I just nodded, making her smile a bit as she continued. "Good, so what do you say you get your lazy ass up and help us fight? Tee hee~" Her warm smile came out like the heavens opening from above, with angels singing in sweet symphony at the background.

Dear Lady El, why is she so damn cute in her form right now? I wish she would stay like this forever, not that she isn't cute in her old form or anything. With a fueled determination made by Aisha, I stood up along with her and fixed my gaze at the Elgang. Raven only gave me his usual look, with a small smirk sneaking past his lips. Chung nodded at me for some reason. Eve stared with her expressionless face while Rena and Ara gave a warm smile at me. And of course, Aisha was giving me her own look of determination, nodding as well. I smiled, taking a deep breath before speaking.

"Alright gang. I know we're all tired of this endless nightmare," I then pointed my steel blade upwards. "But as long as I'm here and you're here, we can beat these never-ending demons together! (?)" I shouted, sounding like a chant as it reached even the demons that were surrounding us. They seemed shocked though. I guess they were frightened, hehe.

*FLOP!*

"Aw! What was that for?!" I called out to the oppressor, which happens to be Eve. I reached out the back of my head and rubbed rapidly, but the pain was just overwhelming. She just slapped me out of nowhere! What did I even do?

"Your speech has no absolute sense." She answered in a boring tone, taking a quick glimpse at me before turning it back to the demons. Everybody seemed to agree.

"Now's not the time for fooling around." Ara said as she pierced her spear through the line of monsters with such accuracy that it hit five demons at once. Eun appears to be tired as she took a temporary rest, leaving the girl's body for a while. That explains why she didn't use a skill or something.

Everyone's busy taking care of the demons, seriousness written in their faces as they used their specialties to take them out. I was about to take one when I noticed a purple glow coming on top of the far gate that was our target to go to. It's weird because it looked like a purple flare that was shot up in the sky. I've never seen one in that color before.

"Guys, look." I spoke in a whispered voice as I pointed to the bloody sky, a single dark lavender light outshining the bloody atmosphere. From what I can tell, the gang stopped for a while as they turned their direction towards where I was pointing at. The demons seemed to halt in their massive assault as the sky filled the whole ambiance with dread and horror, surrounding the area with nothing but the massive purple glow that engulfed our vision.

Covering our eyesight with the help of our hands to prevent the bright light from blinding us, I and the rest of my astonished friends failed to see the wondrous beauty that's right in front of us as the only thing we heard was the loud shattering of the unknown, further brightening the glow with a tinge of darkness. I tried to bring myself up to get a good look at the current happenings, but the radiance was too thick and intense to even get pass through it by eyesight.

"Argh, what is this!?" With my sense of hearing substituting my sense of sight, I heard Raven called out loud with a mighty voice that somehow got through the barrier. Of course, none of us answered in turn, for there is no explanation as of now to what is going on. We could only watch—I mean we could only pay attention to the surroundings that's enveloping the area we're at as we perceived the sounds of reality breaking and earth splitting that took the whole place without notice.

I don't know what's going on but the more time passes, the more I hear the sound of mirror shattering into oblivion. After a few seconds, the radiant purple glow died down to a beat as I left my eyes unguarded and focused on the event that took place.

… Dear El, did the world just sent its Angel of Death and wreaked havoc and death to proclaim its judgment? Maybe I'm just seeing things again. Yeah, like that would be a good guess for the third time around.

As far as my eyes can see, the demons are all gone and Velder seemed to be out of sight as all I could feature was the gigantic dark purple rift with vast amounts of shattered glass-like pieces floating around the black void that's written all over the atmosphere. From what I can tell, I think someone just opened a massive fracture from space and time and literally destroyed everything in its wake once it was made. Whoever did this though, is not some enemy as it somehow helped us from taking out the demons with just a flick of a finger. But should I consider it as an act of helping an ally? That I don't know.

"Are you seeing this, guys?" I asked as from behind as I stood there with them, mouth agape at the somehow horrifying art of obliteration that came from the sky. The gang seemed to be stuck in a trance as I am right now, only getting a few nods and blinks as a response from them. I can go with that, since we hardly witness a catastrophe such as this big bang right here. I just wished it would stop from shattering the whole purple sky on top of us completely.

The cracks started to endlessly travel, creating multiple skyline fissures along the way and even bigger shattered pieces. It could've been worse, but that would be an understatement as it was only beginning… crap.

"It's… breaking?" The specter blurted out from panic as I heard her voice mixed with fright and terror while her gripping arms were completely shaking. If only her mismatched eyes could scream, then we could've heard her yell in dreadfulness. We didn't answer, as the only thought racing in my mind was to hope for the best. I hope we live through this all.

Once again, the resounding eerie echo travelled through the whole atmosphere, and this time we got to see the end of the world happen right in front of our two eyes. Although we covered our ears to prevent them from bleeding, our eyes weren't deceiving us when the whole village of Velder snapped into nothingness in an instant as the broken realm shattered into millions of pieces… along with the rest of us as well.

Well, this is the end for us. Heck, I didn't even get to report our status to sis! Tsk… the whole area started to crumble and shudder right in our very own eyes. The thought of apocalypse or something that's far better to end the world was racing in my mind. I don't like to see the world end before me, because that would be simply terrible in my outlook.

Last I saw was the whole atmosphere that was purely dark turned into rays of light as the shards of time and space broke into millions of tiny pieces, reflecting the light of hope even more until it completely covered the surroundings.


*blink* *blink*

Huh? Am I… in heaven right now?

*blink*

I blinked once more, hoping to clear my view and hopefully get my assumption correct. But seeing from where I'm lying right now, it feels like I slept from a stiff bed for how many days. My back hurts like hell and it was like I got drunk or something. Trying to clear my thoughts if this is heaven or not, I slowly emerged from my lying position and sat at my utmost comfortable point to see if my current surroundings are that of what I perceived. From what I can see, this is no heaven.

I released a breath of relaxation. Thank El that I'm not dead. Regaining my composure, I immediately scanned the vicinity in search of life. The skies are quite clear with the shades of fluffy clouds passing through the rays of sunlight, creating shadows that could serve as a screen for the intense heat the sun was radiating. Shifting my view from the side, I could see my friends are all there lying as if they wanted to sleep for a long time.

Wait? My gang is here? They're alive!

"Guys!" I quickly stood up and stir them from their slumber, but not before checking myself out as I examined from hand to foot that I was back to my old self. Finally, I was getting worried that I would be forever stuck being that different person with that weird look. But then again, forever is just another word.

I headed to the nearest friend at my side, and that was the purple magician who's thankfully back to normal as well. Although I wish she would stay like for a good few days, I mean she was acting totally the opposite of what she was once before!

Gently pushing her shoulders to wake her consciousness, Aisha eventually gripped back into reality as she fluttered her eyes open with her light pink mouth ajar. She looks like a little cute child. Wait, you didn't hear me say that right? Right…

Similar to how I woke up, Aisha sat lazily and rubbed her eyes gently to regain her vision back. "Is it morning already? I still want to sleep." I just watched her yawn once more, to be honest I find her really cute when she's doing that. Hehe. However, as soon as she regained herself, her eyes quickly wandered into the person that's just at right in front of her… which happens to be me. Before the purplette could even have the time to react and spit out words that I somehow memorized by her everyday speech, I quickly leaned forward and embraced her gently. What? I'm just happy that she's okay.

"E-eh?! E-elsword?" She stuttered as her head was resting on my right shoulder. I could feel her face heat up though, but that's really none of my concern as of now. I let go after a few seconds, my hands placed on both Aisha's shoulders as I let her face me upfront.

"I'm glad you're safe…" I carved out my toothy grin as usual, resulting in Aisha getting an even redder face than before as she jerk a bit from her position. But in all seriousness I'm really glad to see both her and my friends safe from that nightmare. Speaking of my friends, I glanced to the side to see them slowly getting up, each of them seemed like they really slept for thousands of years except for Eve. She's a robot of course… I-I mean Nasod!

"Hey guys! Good to see you're all up!" I greeted them as I let my hands off the magician's shoulders whose still in a state of shock as her eyes weren't blinking nor moving. I might've taken the hug a little too far. Oh well…

I stood up and made my way towards the group, helping them get up from their drowsy condition. I can't believe I managed to sober myself though. That must be the work of enthusiasm for seeing your beloved ones safe.

"Ugh… what happened?" Raven asked while his Nasod arm was intact on his head, trying to relieve the brief pain of waking up momentarily.

"I don't know. But from what I can tell, it looks like we were stuck in some kind of trance." I rested my chin up as I put one hand below it, looking as if I was thinking deeply. The gang seemed to think thoroughly of what happened. After a short while, Eve spoke up.

"Hm, Elsword's presumption is possibly correct. We might have been caught in a strong magic-based hallucination."

I fixed my gaze to the Seraph, giving her a questioning look. "Hallucination? You mean like a dream?"

"Yes." She answered shortly, "Do you remember the strange cloud and atmosphere we got when we arrived here in the port?" Her ever trademark tone was there, serious and dull. How can she even retain her character like that? Even after she lost her emotion and got it back naturally, (with the help of us of course) Eve still has that tone that you just can't take off of her.

We rightfully nodded as we remembered the sudden happenings that quickly engulfed us the minute we stepped in the land of Velder. It was as if someone or something malicious had been planning to set this up for a long time, and that someone managed to successfully spring the trap. But if it wasn't for that blinding purple light, we would've been hooked, lined and sinkered… never being able to get back to the normality of the world that we live in.

"That is what caused the hallucination and alter our forms." The Seraph explained once again, but this time Aisha had gotten over her somewhat of a daydream and joined in the conversation.

"Ah! I knew there was something fishy about that red mist! It was emitting strong and foul magic that's really familiar." She and her fundamental laws of magic are really hard to pick up. Can't she explain it in the simplest form like humans naturally do?

"And who is?" The trooper beside Eve asked in a serious tone. In turn, Aisha changed her stance to that of a thinking man with her face getting all serious with her thoughts.

"Hm… Ah!" Once done, she quickly clicked her fingers in the air that was once resting on her chin as her eyes glimmered a bit. "If I remember correctly, it's that big demon alchemist that we encountered in Commercial Area when Velder was still rotting with demons."

"Oh, you mean Joaquin?" I asked to further clarify her assumption, seems as though I was right.

"Hai! He must've taken some sort of high-grade magic and pulled this trick off." She nodded her head before long after hearing what she normally couldn't recall.

"We should've finished him off when we had the time… how bothersome." I heard Raven sigh in annoyance, scratching his head once again. Good thing Rena was there to loosen the Reckless Fist up. He wasn't one to have pity when it comes to monsters, especially those he find infuriating. His robotic arm had been giving Raven hard times, but somehow he had been able to withstand the pain by taking it all out on the monsters we come across with. Quite convenient if one would say.

But there was something that bothered me though. "Wait, so did Joaquin do that space distorting blasting thingy too?" I tried finding the right words to say, but in the end all that escaped my mouth were words that makes half sense. I just can't find a good word to describe the desolation of almost an entire universe. I don't think someone would be so powerful to even bend time and space in its will like Glaive and Luto… unless, one of those two helped us out in our last stand.

"Correction, the one you are referring to is spacial distortion." Eve spoke up once again with her highly intellectual mind of a Queen. It makes me wonder how she can even talk with such formality in a cold tone. So that makes it clear that Joaquin didn't do it, but who?

"Whoever did the splitting of reality into scraps of time and space must've been stuck in the hallucination as well… although it may be hypothetical to think that someone would save us at that very moment." At least Ara finally spoke up after her long silence, creating another question in all of our heads.

"We could go on and on discussing these matters, but for now can we—at any rate—return and bring the good news to your sister and to the village of Velder?" The black haired boy with white bangs suggested with a hint of vexation in his voice. After that strange occurrence, we barely remembered why we came here in the first place. Everyone seemed to agree, so all that's left now is to walk back into the village and report to sis, it wouldn't be that hard, right?

Although, part of me was asking, is Elesis okay?


3rd Person's POV


The road of Harmony was back to its habitual state; where everything is at peace and accordance. Whosoever named this road as Harmony must've found sanctuary and tranquility while crossing this long thoroughfare that would lead to its designated place—either west or east, as both would lead to a different location. The west would always lead to the village of the rebuilding kingdom of Velder, but naturally you would have to pass some certain parts of Velder in order to reach the town. But tracking east will guide and show you the ever so breezy and salty Port of Lurensia. As written from its name, it is but a port that's used to travel across the ocean that separates Lurensia and Fluone. With the specified battleship that can be used as an alternative for a ferry, it will either drop you back to Velder or to the kingdom of Guardians, Hamel.

To make Harmony Road simple, it is a diverse road that will take you to places… not on particular ones, but places. Even during and after the invasion of demons, the road was still tidy and not a single mark of destruction can be seen in its design. So you could say it stuck to its name. But right now, a small band of red knights and their leader were currently lying on the ground unconscious at the very same road that makes the pathway synchronized. It must've been caused by the outraged from earlier, luckily for them—and a few people to spare—the so called hallucination had waned, bringing the affected persons back to their rightful self. And one of those people was no other than the crimson knight who convulsed her closed eyes in order for her to open them.

With half of her eyes open in her current position, Elesis languidly shifted from left to right to distinguish where she could possibly be at the moment. The only thing that's keeping her from seeing more was her lazy body due to exhaustion and her sense of sight not cooperating with her mind. It was as if she had awakened after an ageless time of slumber, much like to what the Elgang had gotten as a side effect. Doing the only thing she is currently capable of, the Grand Master mildly sat on the assorted brick tiled path and thus picked up her red and white claymore that was lying beside her and pierce it into the ground, clinging to it as a support for her balance before getting up.

'W-what the… am I... back?' The red head girl deliberately thought about on how she was back to where she was. Didn't something happen to her? Wasn't she all odd and tired a while ago? Out of fright, she promptly inspect her outfit to spot if she was still wearing the weird yet very attractive garments she was donning for the past few hours as far as she could remember. After noticing that she was wearing her basic attire as a Grand Master, Elesis heaved a sigh, thankful that it was all just a dream for her. It was somewhat of a dreaded experience for the free knight as she is not fond of wearing such ridiculous clothing. And to even say that the red get-up actually fits her in a cruel yet enticing manner just made her fluster in embarrassment. She doesn't like to reveal her exceptional and wondrous curves that are unusual for a knight such as herself. Yes, a girly knight would have to be fit and sexy in a way that she can be respected as one, but for Elesis? Let's just say that she wears the princess-like outfit in order to hide her raw body… if you know what I mean.

Taking her mind off her altered self from her very own nightmare, the crimsonette decided to press to another topic in her dreams that somehow bugged her as she thought about one of the few happenings in the knight's supposed dream. It was someone who got tied with her during the event of being a different person. The one she would call her savior in times the free knight was in impossible circumstances. Just one thought of it made her face glow in a red and pink fashion. Unfortunately, it was glued in her mind as it was the only image that repeated itself back and forth in the Grand Master's mind, letting her face flush even more.

'D-did we actually… e-eh, t-that was just a… ih!' She was shaking her head over and over again to disregard the vision that was now imprinted in her head, but apparently her heart and mind was against the will of Elesis this time, pushing the girl to squirm internally while her face showed an impression of a person who just ate a very sour candy. You can just tell it was awfully cute in a way. With a great sigh of exasperation, the red haired knight wiped the current expression off her face as she twirled in the direction she was facing, enabling the young woman to get a sight of her few men that accompanied her here. Unfortunately, her fellow red knights are currently lying motionless on the ground.

'How come they're here? I haven't seen them when I was in that illicit dream…' She stared at them with a blend of confusion and a subtle amount of resentment that somehow made the lass cross both her arms just below her curvy chest. It would be ashamed if her knights would be down in just one quick blow. But then again, she and her band of red have faced and encountered countless numbers of attacks that's both deadly and surprising at the same time. Nevertheless, Elesis and her beloved knights handled all the tasks and mission that had risen in order to achieve peace once more in the kingdom of Velder. She was grateful to have this kind of alliance, for if there are no red knights, Elesis as the Grand Master wouldn't exist either.

However, her train of decent thoughts collapsed as soon as the girl heard a very familiar noise, or snore to be more precise that's coming from the three slumbering knights, resulting in a tick mark at the side of the crimsonette's head as she saw the light breathing of one of her unconscious men. To say the atmosphere around her dropped to a substantial amount would be a mistake, since normally it would be like that whenever Elesis would notice her working people doze off even for the slightest moment.

Holding the side of her head with her right hand to suppress everything in her mind that involves anger, Elesis let out another breath of disappointment in order to retain her womanly composure. Even though there was nobody in the vicinity to see her rage in scowling anger, she still decided to press on important issues rather than waste her time in some pointless conversation.

'I'll wake them up later… when I get to Velder and ask a few knights to take care of them.' She snickered in her own thoughts as the Grand Master started to walk in the direction she was supposed to be heading, but got stuck in the moment due to the weird yet somehow surreal dream she had. But no matter, she will have to take matters on her own accord. Besides, meeting Elsword and his group of friends that helped her brother always puts a smile on Elesis' face.

And so, the red haired knight continued to toddle her way back to the village without the three laidback red knights that she had now walked past through, leaving them exposed to the bright rays of the golden sun. She would've cared, but then again, it's not her fault something happened amidst their travel. So, seeing the most convenient way to settle this, Elesis would have to get someone pick them up sometime after her somewhat of a reunion with her twin-like brother. Knowing him, Elesis would have to go all the way back to Velder and not waste her time to get to the port. Besides, Elsword doesn't like waiting anyway… so the best option was to go back as surely they will be waiting there.

After several minutes of walking, the Grand Master had reached the only safe zone between the village of Velder and the harbor of Lurensia. Considering the giant Clock tower that's placed at the middle of it all, you can mostly say that the name of this place is pretty obvious just by looking at the big watch tower. For Elesis, she knew very well what this place is. However, as she began to march forward to get to her destination, a silhouette lying lifelessly on the ground caught her attention. As far as she could remember, the place hasn't been touched by the demons that invaded most of Velder. So why was there a person that's laying unconscious here?

With her curiosity growing deeper by the minute she walked towards the figure, she couldn't help but notice the familiar features the stranger was emitting. Surely, Elesis had been in touched with so many persons that she had made friends with throughout her travels with the red knights—of course, let's not forget the El Explorers and her brother. But this person just gives so much nostalgia that it drives the free knight into so many thoughts.

Once she got in close proximity, Elesis found herself stuck in the moment as soon as she saw the character that's all too familiar for her. In an instant, her soldier instincts kicked in and quickly hunched over to check the person if it was still living or not. It wasn't a hard time to flip the man's body as he was abnormally slim. But once she had a good view of the man's frontal body and face, she found it hard to believe that her suspicions were indeed true.

"Add! W-what happened?!"

It was the tracer, however… his suit was extremely torn from the upper part and blood was continuously dripping from his head down to his left eye. 'What happened to him? More importantly… how did he end up here?'

Providing a resting area for his head by placing it on one of her bended knees, Elesis examined his vital parts as she placed two fingers on the side of the tracer's neck. She felt anxious as she waited for a few seconds before a single pulse came out, giving her a sigh of relief before doing what she had been trained to do in an unfortunate event like this. With all the unworldly wounds that he attained, the Grand Master wasn't sure what to do to tend the damage that was all over Add's body. Fixing their position, Elesis carried Add behind her back, supporting his legs with the help of her free arms. What happened to her sword? Well, being the magic user—and at the same time a sword user—that she is, her great sword had vanished into flurry lights of charred flames. How does she do that? I honestly don't know.

Standing up, she took a quick glance at the unconscious esper. She couldn't help but feel a wave of sorrow wash up her face from seeing Add in such a disastrous state. However, it wouldn't stop the girl from helping the poor lad who had been there for her… especially in the utmost needed times. With a determined look, she faced forward and started to march her way back to the village. Carrying a big badass sword was nothing for her, what more of a human like Add?


Add's POV


Ugh…

This headache… I can't feel my legs…

Oh wait. Wrong dialogue…

Let me start over… well probably that's what I'm currently up to right now. I don't know where I am as I just woke up with a dull ache on both my head and chest. Opening my emotionless eyes, what I saw was an atmosphere identical to a canvas. However, there was no painter, so you could see nothing but pure white… or to make it simple, NOTHING.

Huh, that's odd. From what I vaguely remember—thanks to my sh*t of a headache because of this—I was having fun demolishing an entire existence of a made-up dimension. You read that right, it was one of those crazy science clown show where they try to defy physics with the use of their so-called art of magic. Psh… utter bullsh*t. I personally have a grudge to those who think they know it all but when really, they're nothing but mere commoners who messes with the ideal logics of the universe.

Blasphemy must not be part of their dictionary or something, so sometimes (or very so often) you just got to give them a piece of the altered dimension and fix their broken frame of mind. No… don't get me wrong, but disarraying their minds helps me progress better with my time and space calculations. How, you ask? Very simple really…

It gets rid of my insanity for quite a few good months or so. The sheer joy of hearing their screams of pain and wails of agony coming from them after a good bout refreshes my inner self. I can never get this psychosis off my system, so the best thing that I can do is just enjoy it. Kek.

But I didn't get the chance to properly introduce myself to that alchemist I last battled with. It felt really good having an intense fixture with a demon alchemist after not seeing or even encountering one for a very long time. A demon sure goes a long way in its run. However, he didn't stand a chance when it comes to dimension expertise. But I have to say, he did well in making a stable, fabricated world in his liking. It's a shame time wasn't on my side when I was winning. I'd blame my fragile yet sturdy body if I can, but being already that makes no sense to begin with, so yeah. Though I have to wonder, how did he make one with silly magic tricks? Sigh… magic is so hard to understand.

*RIIING!*

Ku! Damn it! There goes the resonating sensation hitting my brain once again, forcing me to stand half of my body up in response while trying to ease the throbbing with my right hand. I groaned a bit as I closed my eyes in relaxation. This headache is really doing some damage to my senses. I'm not really sure what's causing this, but I flailed in my attempt at standing up straight fully without wobbling around the colorless vicinity. Unfortunately, I failed at doing so as I couldn't transfix my stance firmly at the white platform that I'm not even sure if it was a platform or not. Nevertheless, I continue to clench my aching head and inspect my surroundings.

It wasn't a bad idea, but it wasn't good either. All I see is white; nothing more, nothing less. It caused my mind to think of numerous questions, one of which is…

"Why am I here?" I muttered under the noiseless atmosphere, beginning to slightly pace through my footsteps as my curiosity automatically instigated my regenerating mind with all sorts of things to wander about. It was like casually taking a stroll down a park full of showering snow on a Christmas Eve—without the usual bench, humans, and trees of course. However, the air became rather cold by the second, giving a bit of a chill down my spine. Guess calling it Christmas here was unexpected.

Somehow, while walking every step of the way towards the unknown, the white canvas gradually lessened into tiny bits of colors. Then, slowly—by each step—my surroundings became less pallid as it showed a transparent street with stones decorating the main road. I turned to look from the left to right—and with a blink of an eye—houses and trees of sorts were established throughout almost everywhere from where I was standing. The fields of grass lay upon the free ground that wasn't occupied by the stone pathway and the several structures residing in its vicinity.

However, the picture was somewhat blurry and transparent. It was like taken from a very old and worn out camera that seems to take a photo from the former days where elders rule and kids were to sleep early. Yeah, I've seen it on some point of time travelling and dimension jumping during my years of being gone in reality.

There was that one medium house that was residing on the right side to where I was currently standing. It gave a somewhat familiar aura as I stared at it in contemplation. Huh…

*plop*

Hm? What was that?

*plop*

… There it goes again. I discontinued my previous act and focused on the sound that was beginning to emanate from almost everywhere. Once I looked up though, I found my answer.

Rain…

Yes, it was raining. The sky has been tainted with massive grayish dark clouds that were compressed to each other in one place and decided to dampen the environment with its somehow comforting drizzle. It makes the picture perfect in the eyes of the painter, although I have to wonder why I wasn't being drenched in rain water when I can see my surroundings being confined in one.

"Add! Where have you been sweetie?"

A sudden vision of memories came flooding through my mind that lasted for a few seconds. This voice, could it possibly be? No… I must be hallucinating again. I should just let it be, but my inner instinct was telling me to take a peek. F*cking guts, I should just man up from this. I immediately turned to where the voice was coming from. And sure enough, I was caught in mix emotions as I saw the person that I've been trying to save… the person that was the sole reason of my existence.

That soft sullen voice, that sweet warm and soothing smile whenever she calls my name, it was my mother; and she was standing in the middle of the cold rain with an umbrella as her protection. What got my eyes shock though, was that she was facing in the direction to where I was standing.

She was smiling… at me… with the same motherly expression that would put any child to yell her mother's name in glee and hug her. Damn it, my chest is suddenly throbbing. I had no words really. I could only stare in disbelief as she started to walk closer to me, each step making my heart beat unbelievably more rapidly. No, snap of out it… she isn't real. She's… dead.

"Sweetie, it's been so long. You're all grown up now, aren't you?"

… My mouth was shivering—not from fear or horror—but possibly from something else. Was it happiness? Was it sadness? Am I in high spirits to see my mother right in front of me? I don't know anymore, it's been a long time since I felt those emotions. For once in my lifetime, I didn't have the courage to speak in front of someone. Damn it, the rain is really beginning to pour down hard.

She suddenly tilted her head and raised a brow. "Add? What's wrong? Don't cry sweetie. Mommy's here." No, I wasn't crying. I-It was the rain, yes. The rain must be responsible for this! But no… she wouldn't believe that as the evidence was right in front of her, wiping away the tear that was running down my right cheek with her hand. That was when I lost it—gripping the hand quickly as I could and not letting it escape for a good few seconds—causing her to be in a bit of shock.

When my mind came to life, the realization hit me. She was real. I was able to grasp my mother's hand, she… she's alive. "M-mom!" Without hesitation, I freed her hand from my grasp and immediately hugged her, letting her umbrella fall from the many puddles that formed on the ground due to the rain.

My eyes well up with tears from the held back emotions that I was keeping, if only I could see her smile right now, but I felt glad that she replied back with a warm hug as well. My head was hanging down low on her shoulder, staining it with glittering tears coming from my closed eyes.

"There there. Cry your heart's pain out; I'm always here for you." I was lost, lost from both sanity and mind. I couldn't believe that I finally get to see her, let alone hug her after for so long. After a few minutes of not speaking, I found the courage to look straight into my mother's eyes as I let go of the hug, a few sobs escaping out of my system every once in a while.

"It's good to see my son again, but please…" She put both hands on both sides of my cheeks, cupping them while her thumbs wiped the excess tears near my eyes. "Move on Add. Stop trying to change the past. I don't want to see you getting hurt over and over again. Be happy."

… I just hung my head down low again, the shadows of my hair hiding my eyes from her gaze. My eyes were beginning to get watery again, but I had enough of that. I don't want to cry over the same sh*t again.

"But, how will I ever be happy if I can't find the happiness that I seek for so long?"

Her smile makes it hard to be angry or even get mad at her. "I raised you to be a clever boy Add. You'll find it sooner, I'm sure of it."

Tch… this is getting harder by the minute. I can't just accept reality and move on, but it's even harder because it's your mother that's saying it. The one thing that I had been longing for: my family. They're the reason why I chose this path, why I chose to gamble everything—even I—just to turn back time in hopes of saving them. And now she's persuading me to leave them and forget them?!

"N-no… you don't understand. My family is the one thing that will keep me happy for the rest of my life. I want to live with both my parents alive and-" She gently put one finger on my verbalizing lips, cutting off my sentence in an instant.

"Add, if you can't accept reality and keep ignoring the truth, you will never find true happiness in your life."

She then put her hand down back to its place and beamed a motherly smile. "Live for us, Add. Live for the ones you love. That is the first step in freeing yourself from the past." Lost for another set of words, she tiptoed up to my forehead and gently kissed it.

I stared back at my mother, who always seemed to smile without growing weary of it. In spite of being sad, her smile somehow pacified my emotions and turned them down to a low and sweet melody… how could I be so lucky to have such a mother like her? She was indeed right, but it wouldn't be easy like every beginnings. I answered back with a gentle smile—a smile that has withered plenty of years ago. But seeing and even talking to my mother again, somehow my old self was getting back. It might take a while, but I'm sure that I'll get out of this cocoon.

"I will try mother, for you and father's sake."

And for the very first time, I heard my mother chortle after seeing my expression. I won't blame her for laughing. I barely know how to smile nowadays… kek.

"That's the Add I know."

As if on cue, the rain somehow stopped and the grayish dark sky started to withdraw from the atmosphere. A bit thankful really, but the surroundings started to slowly vanish in every blink that my eyes could make.

"It seems my time spending with you is over."

… What? I saw her slowly fading away with the surroundings. "Y-you're leaving already?!"

"Of course, I've already done my part of helping you with your life sweetie."

Sigh, well I guess this was a bit expected. I know for certain that my mother's dead, but I also know she's alive deep down inside my memory and my heart. She's my mother, after all. I just watch my mother slowly slip away from the now white canvas (again), waving a hand goodbye—which I responded back with a snicker and a farewell as well, of course.

However, during the last minute of her renowned existence, she quickly made an expression of someone who just remembered what she had forgotten to say. "Oh! And Add! Remember to stay polite to girls!"


3rd Persons POV


Remnants from the teary dream sparkled in his eyes as he slowly opened them upon awakening. From the looks of it, there was still sadness lingering in the tracer's lavender eyes. By the time the esper woke up, he found himself in quite a bit of a shock. Not only did he dream about a wonderful nightmare, but he also found himself amazingly waking up in a bed which—in first glance—looks recognizable for him by all means. It was the bed which was supposed to be occupied by two but was now only taken by none other than Add, of course. It was, yet again unnatural for him to be in a bed with just by himself. Somehow, he got used to the everyday and night of waking and sleeping with Elesis. Thinking about it, it sounds awkward if one would put it. But for Add, having a red haired girl wake up next to you felt like having a wife… except he doesn't know the feeling of having one and casually saying that to Elesis would lead to some unwanted occurrences in the fortress of Velder. So it was best not tell Elesis what he was feeling as his words have no breaks when it comes to those things.

Standing half of his body from his lying position, the first thing that stung in his mind was the upsetting pain that greatly travelled across his body. It was as if the tracer can feel his blood coursing rapidly throughout his system in such swarming speed. That was just half of his problems, as his head was also twitching from the pain that he's experiencing. It didn't help one bit as it only doubled the aching sensation that he was already having.

"El damn it… what happened to me?"

It was the first thing that came to his mind, allowing some parts of his body to withdraw from pain. If this was a game, then right now he just struck the million dollar question. Without anything to look back for clues, Add examined himself for possible traces of what had occurred from the onslaught he enlisted with the demon alchemist. But instead of having clues, he discovered himself being wrapped up with bandages around his chest—along with his right shoulder down to half of his right arm.

"Great… can this get any worse?" He mumbled in his deep voice—running his left hand up to his hair and down to head–only to come across with more bandages that was draped around his forehead. He would've face palmed himself with utter aggravation, but that's the last thing the tracer would do to his damaged body. How great indeed.

His mad contemplation soon diverted itself into something far more important than his health. Seeing that his upper body was deprived out of clothes—which he didn't give one single care about it—his eyes widened in fear as he realized that his creations were missing. "My armor! My Dynamos!"

And soon, the human became had tried to break humanity once more as he trudged through the sheets and pillows of the bed, but unfortunately, none of his two handiworks were there. He grew furious by the second—and even though Add was worn out right now—his temper only fueled his fire and thus enabling the esper to get up from the red divan and immediately start capturing a much bigger space for searching.

He tried searching everywhere… from the small refined closets, the large wooden cabinets, down to the ends of the bed, the flips of the carpets, up to the dusts of the unsettled bookshelves and finally, through the slippery slides of the bathroom. But unfortunately…

"Now, where the hell are my dynamos?!" Well, it was a good thing he went to the bathroom as Add—out of sheer luck—found his dear Armor in the one of the hooks for placing your towel. There was only one person brave enough to strip Add off of his clothing, and he was pretty sure that she has the dynamos that he's been longing for. After all, he needs to check the systems after that tiring fight with Joaquin. He can certainly bet that his dynamos would somehow overwork when it comes to those moments.

'Oh! And Add! Remember to stay polite to girls!'

And just then, the words of his loving mother struck the boy with a bit of a setback. Undeniably, Add needed to relax and take a few deep breathes. And so he did, as it was the only option to relieve his enragement and settle things more appropriately to the Grand Master. He pinched the bridge of his nose to ease his stress. He was half disabled with all the injuries and all, so sorting out things in the easy way would cause less tension and more regeneration for the esper.

'Alright, I'm all set… where is she anyway?'

Opening the door to reveal the vast sets of other doors leading to other rooms, Add carefully strolled through the corridors in hopes of finding Elesis without dragging to much attention to the other knights or possible peoples hanging around in the lying vicinity.

Passing through one of the elongated windows, Add became skeptical in his state as he saw that the moon was out with the dark blanket that the sky had perfectly placed for the small, round, gray planet along with the outlying neighboring stars that was glimmering close by the distant. Sure enough, he found it disbelieving… I mean, did he just sleep through the entire day?! If so, then his body must've taken tons of damage from the last fight he had.

'Hard to believe—he thought—but that's just how it is right now. I might as well ask her what happened to me.' Passing down the few hallways after reaching the stairs that leads to the main floor, Add had managed to get to the base of the fortress in such a state. I guess he was used to pain for a very long time.

The first thing he decided to look was the main lobby—which of course, Elesis was nowhere to be seen—as there was only a handful of knights that were either guarding or taking a break for the upcoming night shift. Seeing that his favorite red knight wasn't there, Add then ventured forth towards the dining area, since he knows that the Grand Master would always cook from time to time between meals. He had to admit, when it comes to cooking, she was—without a doubt—an expert when handling dishes. The esper should know, since he had tasted one of her cooking skills before.

Drawing near, he could hear five or so people having a chat and some little chuckles of sorts which he didn't care to listen as he was nowhere good at caring to strangers. However, one voice that he's so fond of came by in his ears, giving the tracer a smirk of victory as he had located the girl he was looking for.

But upon stepping in front of the massive opening that the dining area had, he could see the eight people—each of different attires—sitting at the dining table while eating the food that Elesis had prepared. Was it Elesis? He doesn't know, as he only saw a few tricks of her kitchen skills that he would always forget whenever he starts to munch on it. From what he could perceive, there were four girls (excluding Elesis) and three lads that were sitting across each other on the table. And at the very end of the dining table, a seat was purposely made for Elesis as she was seating on it at the moment, enjoying the fact that Elsword and his band of friends had gather here tonight after a victorious win in retaking Hamel.

She seems to be forgetting a certain someone. 'Never mind, she seems to be happy to see her comrades.' And somehow, he seemed to have forgotten what he was doing from the very start. But being Add, he wouldn't just wait and sit around for his dynamos to suddenly come back to him. No, he would have to get them himself if ever the conditions comes at hand.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and grab the attention of the red haired knight, the situation suddenly took a turn and went opposite as Elesis stared at him in complete astonishment. Seeing Add managed to get up from all the wounds she had tended almost gave her a heart attack. Another red haired knight—this time a boy—saw her sister's expression, prompting him to question Elesis.

"Uh, sis? Something wrong?"

Sorry to say, she didn't hear what her brother had said as her attention was now fully concentrated on Add, who was somewhat trolling her as his smile was that of a happy-go-lucky guy, matching it well with the waving left hand that she earned from him. 'What is he thinking?! He should be resting!'

Continuing the act, the result was expected as Elesis slammed both her hands on the dining table, creating a mini-earthquake on the table before she spoke in a mix of concern and anger towards the tracer whose still wearing the same expression.

"Add! You're not supposed to be walking with those injuries of yours! They're still fresh, you idiot!"

And the whole dining area was filled with nothing but silence. There was no reaction for the gang to what Elesis had just spat out. That was when the said girl realized what she had just said. 'Oh no, I haven't even told them about Add yet!'

The esper—who has no idea what was going on and about—casually asked Elesis while scratching the back of his head, trying to avoid the gaze she was throwing. If only he could see her right now…

"Oh, I was just going to ask you nicely about my dynamos. Do you know where it is?" He asked, trying to be sarcastic and serious at the same time.

On the rest of everybody's mind, (excluding Elesis of course) they continued to absorb the things that were unfolding so far. Dynamos, the name Add… somehow, it rings a bell throughout every single one of them. Once they allowed themselves to see the figure on the opposite side, sure enough—their expressions were either stunned, taken aback, flabbergasted and something that relates to every one of those words.

'Add?! He's alive?!'

Add on other side, wasn't paying attention to the stares as he continued to look everywhere that's not on the dining table, but as soon as he did—since he was about to ask Elesis again nicely—a mix of dark and white blur passed beyond the dazed gang and rushed forward at the tracer. In such short notice, he didn't detected the unknown figure that suddenly came pouncing down at him, tackling him down hard on the cold floor. But what surprised him was that she was hugging him affectionately. It was somehow memorable in his head as he got the same thing from a certain red haired knight that he just reunited with in the past days.

Cuddling down to the tracer's chest, the raven haired lady spoke up in a cheerful tone. "Addiiee~! It's really you! I knew you were alive somewhere! I missed you, you big dummy!" After the somewhat declaration of speech, the girl hid her face on his chest… which was not all good for Add in his current state. He was about to scold her, but that soon faded as he felt his upper body getting drench in something watery. Wait, was she crying?

… Yep, it was déjà vu for the tracer alright. He tried looking for any help from the strangers and Elesis, but all he got was all their stares that he couldn't depict very well, even though they all bear the same expressions.

Doing what was once again the best thing to do (for himself), he patted the girls head, trying to comfort the young woman from her weeping form. Add then spoke up.

"Uh, hehe… please refrain from crying miss, I might have to renew this bandages that Elesis made." Speaking of Elesis, he turned his attention to her.

"Hey Elesis, who are these people?"

Well, at least that got the weeping lady's attention. She stopped crying and stared at Add with a look of concern and amazement. 'He's joking… right?'

'I don't think that serious look from him isn't a joke, Ara.'

The rest of the gang continued to stare at the white haired boy who got pinned down by Ara. What was the proper response for this? No matter how many times they would ponder, there was no answer to these happenings as of now. Maybe Elesis would know?

In an instant, the attention was turned to the Grand Master, who stuttered internally on what or how should she say it to her brother and his friends, since they know Add a bit better than her. Sighing to regain her composure, Elesis finally spoke up.

"Fine… Add. They are your friends from your past."


Sigh… finally a platform for the next chapter. (_ _") It wasn't easy, but I hope you liked the story so far. My writing skills have become a bit rusty in here I think? So much to do at life at the moment… but anyway! Sorry for the certain random moments, my thoughts are overdriving sometimes. Thanks for reading or waiting for this chapter! :)

It's better to review late than never!